1675: A Jesuit priest living in China reportedly develops
a vehicle that is propelled by a form of steam turbine.

1660: Sir Isaac Newton proposes that
a jet of steam could be used to power a carriage, an idea now
considered to be a precursor to development of the jet engine.

1690: Denis Papin describes an apparatus
in which the condensation of steam in a cylinder creates a vacuum.
His simple steam engine is called the Papin Cylinder.

1698: Denis Papin develops the first
piston that is moved by the pressure of steam rather than atmospheric
pressure.

1698: Thomas Savery patents "the
Miner's Friend," a machine that pumps water from coal mines.
It becomes the first practical machine powered by steam. He later
publishes a description of his steam engine in 1702. In 1707,
Denis Papin modifies Savery's high-pressure steam pump.